His sartorial splendidness didn’t dilute his masculinity though. He was so…male. And it made Sabrina fascinated and afraid at the same time.
The two men settled two tables away from where she was. From the corner of her eye, she saw the stranger running his hand on the leathered upholstery of the chair beside him. Sabrina felt the caress like it was her skin the stranger was touching. Her cheeks started growing warm. Bothered by the sensation, she distracted herself and hailed a waitress to order something. Anything to cool her down.
The stranger continued his inspection of the chair, and to Sabrina it seemed more than the cursory interest of someone merely admiring the workmanship of the furniture. The manager’s eyes and hers met, and Sabrina looked away. God, couldn’t she be more obvious about her fascination with the man?
Thankfully the arrival of a third party, another hotel staff, distracted the hotel manager. Introductions were made and she caught the name Luca Argenti from the stranger himself.
“Grazie,” she told the waitress who had arrived with her iced tea. Italian wasn’t the official language in Seirenada, but most of the locals understood it better than English. She pretended to check her mobile, knowing there wouldn’t be any messages due to the time difference in California.
She peeked under lowered lashes. She couldn’t help it. She saw the stranger cross his legs and the edge of his pants inch higher.
Sabrina bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Her sexy stranger was wearing patterned socks−in polka dots! They were in monochromatic blues, but still…there were dots. Lots of them.
The meeting at the other table didn’t seem to be breaking up soon. Sabrina reluctantly rose. It was already ten past and she doubted any member of the Konstantinos family would be arriving at this time of the night. She had another reason for leaving though. Her eyes couldn’t stop straying to Luca Argenti. She had to leave before she attracted the attention of the hotel manager again.
Back in her room, she typed his name and hit the search button on the computer.
Luca Argenti. President of the iconic company House of Argenti founded by his great grandfather. Together with his siblings, he helmed the Italian brand known for luxury and a gracious way of living. From clothes, leather goods, apparel, accessories, and even furniture, the House of Argenti had a finger in each slice of the fashion pie. Who hadn’t heard of the famous brand? But Sabrina didn’t care about how he made his living. She only cared about his connections. Yeah, right, her conscience snickered, but she smothered it. She had to make his acquaintance. He would be her means to accomplish what she had set out to do.
It seemed the universe was making it up to her for years of rotten luck. The royal wedding, which was going to be attended full force by the Konstantinos clan. And now, a pertinent piece of information that would help her out in her mission. The Argentis and Konstantinos’ were business associates and long-time friends.
Luca Argenti turning up at the beach just when she had been racking her brain thinking of ways to bump into him was a godsend. He would be her means to an end. No matter how much her attraction to him frightened her, she had to overcome it.
Sabrina was crap at flirting and picking up men. She had never developed the skills. She had been born with a face that was considered beautiful. Attracting cursory attention wasn’t her problem. Deflecting it was. She had always been uneasy around men. Wasn’t interested in any of them. Her grandmother’s warning always reverberated in her mind. Men are never to be trusted. She had gone through her life with only one single relationship with a man, sort of, and she had never really felt the lack thereof.
Until she saw him last night.
“What have you got there?” His deep melodious voice intruded on her thoughts. His chin jerked to her bag.
“Sea glass,” she responded before she could stop herself. Her mind had been busy replaying their conversation. Did she just say she wasn’t interested in a fling? Sabrina groaned silently. It was reflex self-preservation. He was too sexy. Too much testosterone for her peace of mind. She had felt threatened and had forgotten she was supposed to get close to this man. Focus, Sabrina.
But she had to quell her instincts to run if she was going to accomplish what she came here for. She was due to leave in three days.
“Siren’s tears,” he quipped.
At her questioning look, he continued, “From the Greek myths. The sirens were the handmaidens of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, goddess of fertility.” The breeze whipped his dark fringe across his eyes, which Sabrina realized were as blue as the waters around the island. “When she was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, Demeter gave the sirens wings to search for her. Their tears at their fruitless search fell to the sea and became sea glass.” He smiled wryly. “That’s the Liguerian version.”